📖LearnModule 9 · Lesson 16 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, completedUnit 4 · Les relatifs complexes
Ce qui, ce que, ce dont
Module 9 of the free French course (CEFR B2, completed), lesson 16 of 30: . On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 16.
The words
French
English
Say it
ce qui m'intéresse
what interests me
suh kee ma(n)-tay-REHS
ce que je veux
what I want
suh kuh zhuh VUH
ce dont j'ai besoin
what I need
suh doh(n) zhay buh-ZWA(n)
le calme
the quiet
luh KAHLM
s'intéresser à
to take an interest in
sa(n)-tay-reh-say AH
avoir besoin de
to have need of
ah-vwahr buh-ZWA(n) duh
l'idéefeminine — the article elides to l'
the idea
lee-DAY
neutre
neutral
nuhtr
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
When the thing you are pointing at is not a noun but a whole idea, French uses ce plus the relative. Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est la musique. Ce que je veux, c'est du calme. Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est du temps.
Et aussi · And also
The choice follows the verb, exactly as it always has: qui for the subject, que for the object, dont for verbs that take de — avoir besoin de, parler de, se souvenir de.
Attention · Watch out
ce qui is the subject (ce qui m'intéresse), ce que the object (ce que je veux), ce dont for de-verbs (ce dont j'ai besoin). The verb decides, as it always has.
vouloir, imparfait — the table
je voulais · tu voulais · il/elle voulait · nous voulions · vous vouliez · ils/elles voulaient
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with ce qui m'intéresse.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out vouloir, imparfait in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.